Account of ihe Rota Club, 
WANT’s combination muft be lefs active. 
Wnanfwerable as this reafoning feems.to 
me, I fhall determine the point: by experi-— 
ment; and communicate to you the refult, 
if it fhould be different from the above. 
deduction. There is another objection 
to the calcareous bafis: it is to be appre-_ 
hended, that ‘part of the oxymuriate of 
lime will, in the procefs of bleaching with 
it, be decompoted, and its calcareous 
bafis fixed upon the cloth. In this cale, 
the ftuff, though white at firft, will ina 
fhort time become yellow; or, if it were 
printed, it would be ftained in.the bath 
in which the colours are-raifed. I have 
ftated this objeCtion to an eminent chemuit 
of this town, who differs from me in op:- 
nion, alleging, that the lime being dif- 
folved in an acid, would prevent the bad 
effects I apprehended from it. But he 
did not confider, that no bafis for any 
colour can be applicd to cloth, if that 
bafis be not in actual combination with 
anacid.—Such an inconvenience, how- 
“eeyer, cannot arife from the ufe of the 
\ 
_ bythe agreement 
. 
oxymuriate of potafh. But though the 
alcaline liquor be fuperior to Mr. Ten- 
NANT’s (which I am, however, inclined 
to think is capable of much improve- 
ment), both in point of price and ftrength, 
yet it is inferior to a fimple folution of 
the oxygenated muriate acid in’ mere 
water. Nothing is cheaper than water, 
and no other vehicle impairs the bleaching 
power of that acid leis than water. The 
only inconvenience lies in its application. 
The fuffocating vapeurs which efcapé 
from it, require that it fhould be ufed in 
clofe veflels, which fhould, however, be 
fo contrived as to enable the bleacher to 
work his pieces in the liquor, that is, to 
expofe every part of them, to the action 
ef the liquor, as otherwile the ftuff would 
be of an uneven colour. Having invented 
an apparatus for this purpoie, I refer 
your readers to the lJaft volume of the 
“© Manchefler Memoirs,’ in which I have 
given to the public a defcripticn of that 
apparatus. I am, fir, your, mot obe- 
dient fervant, THEO. Lewis Rupp. 
_Manchefier, April 19, 1798. 


For the Mouthly Magazine. 
Some Account ofthe Rora: 
BS the year 1657, Oliver, Cromwell per- 
emptorily diffolved the lait of the re- 
publican parliaments. - He had hitherto 
poverned * conftitutionally ; but, being 

* Conformably to the conftitution fettled 
of the people at the convey- 
— 
\ 
ee 
convinced that he was: no longer likely to 
retain the proteétoral office with the con- 
{ent of the legiflature, he determined. to 
difmiifs it, and to attempt an undifguifed 
military, delpotifm. The republicans: 
took alarm; and the more literary politi- 
cians among thein collected into a debat- 
ing fociety, called the Rota, whofe {pe- 
culations had for their obje& to mvolve' 
a true idea of the belt form of govern- 
ment. ‘¢ Their difcourfes of ordering a 
commonwealth (fays the royalift An- 
thony Wood), were the mot ingenious 
and fimart ever heard; for the arguments. 
in the parliament houfe were but flat to 
thole. ‘This gang had a balloting box, 
and ballotted how things fhould be car- 
ried by way of eflay; which not being 
ufed or Known in England before, on this’ 
account, theroom was every evening very 
full. Belide James Harrington and 
Henry Nevil, who were the prime men ef 
this club, were Cyriac Skinner, Major 
Wildman, Roger Coke, author of “ The 
Detecionof the Four laff Reigns,’* William 
Petty and Maximilian Petty, and a great 
many others, fome whereof are {till living. 
The doétrine was very taking, and the more 
becaufe as to human forefight there was no 
poflibility of the king’s return. The preat- 
eft of the parliament-men hated this rota- 
tion and balloting, as being agamét their, 
power. Eight or ten’ were for it, of 
which number Henry Nevil was the one 
who propoied it to the houfe, and made 
it out to the members, that except they 
embraced that fort of government, they 
mult be ruined. The model of it was, 
that the third part of the fenate, or houfe, 
fhould vote out, by ballot, every year, 
and not'be capable of being eleéted again 
for three years to come; fo that every 
ninth year the fenate would be whoily. 
altered. No magilrate was to centinue 
_ above three years, and all. were to be 
chofen. by a fort of ballot, than which 
nothing could be more fair and impartial 
as it was then thought, though oppoled 
by many, for feveral reafons.’” It is pro- 
bable that Milton was’a member of the 
Rota; fince the fatirical attack on his 
.** Ready and Eafpy Way io efiablifova free 
Commonwealth,” profefles to, be the cen- 
{ure of the Rota, on Milton’s projegt of 
conftitution...- 
After the death of Cromwell, thefe 

tion of St. Albans, in November 1647, con 
firmed by the fecond convention of 1653, and 
proclaimed ‘in the inftrument of government. 
Fairtax prefided in the firft, Barebones in the 
fecond of thefe ‘conventions, 
politica} 
